Friday Drinks and Frozen Day ♥♥

With the weather getting warmer  and warmer everyday, I think we could all agree that we need something that will cool us off and keep us feeling refresh. Since it is Summer, I am making a seasonal post just for the Summer season and this will happen on Fridays. I am calling it Friday Drinks and Frozen Day 🙂 The post will mostly be about Summer drinks and frozen treats to keep up cool and comfy during the Summer season. If it is not Summer where you are right now, do not worry because you can always go back and search for these recipes whenever Summer arrives in your area or you are just feeling to get chilled. Some of the drinks that I am sharing here can be made any day of the year, i say bring the ice cream out on Winter 🙂

This Overnight Banana Oatmeal Smoothie is an incredibly delicious breakfast drink. It is a good source of calcium and fiber, it taste like a mildly banana flavored milk with the nice texture of soaked oats and subtle vanilla flavor. I never thought I will fall in love with an overnight oatmeal smoothie, but I did and I cannot stop making this oatmeal smoothie. Hands down amazing!

I was not a fan of overnight oatmeal, but I gave it a chance and tried it few times. Although I love cooked oatmeal, I find overnight oatmeal to have the grainy “uncooked” taste which I do not like. After several attempts and several variations, I finally accepted that overnight oatmeal is not for me. Time to move on, there’s more to life than overnight oatmeal 🙂 And so I thought that was the end of the story, apparently not because here I am writing about this overnight oatmeal smoothie. But I did change something to address my issue of that grainy “uncooked” taste. Instead of using cold milk, I microwaved the mixture for 1 minute on high power. This somehow cooked the oats and removed that “uncooked” taste that I do not like. Maybe its just me, if you do not have that problem you can skip the microwave part.

This is NOT your regular smoothie – Oatmeal + Smoothie

This is not your regular smoothie, this is an overnight oatmeal smoothie. Cool, right? You’ve probably heard or made overnight oatmeal before. The idea is to soaked the oats in milk and leave it overnight in the refrigerator to soften. Then you add toppings of our choice, the sky is the limit! This overnight oatmeal smoothie is just like that, but it has a smoother consistency, I call it drinkable consistency. Not as runny as water or milk, a little bit thicker but not too thick like iced smoothie. This is what makes this a great breakfast drink, it’s healthier and nutritious and the variations are endless. You can add any fruit that you like. Mango, avocado, strawberry, banana, peaches, apricot, pineapple, kiwi, apple and MORE! You guys are going to be happy with this. You are not only getting your source of calcium from this drink, your are even getting good dose of fiber from oatmeal, and vitamins from fresh fruits of your choice. Plus, this drink is not loaded with artificial sugar, the sweetness comes mostly from fresh or frozen fruits and a bit of help from 1 tbsp of honey, you can even remove the honey if the fruit you are using is sweet enough to give sweetness to the smoothie. 

Choose Your Sweet Spot

I’ve tested this oatmeal smoothie over and over (and I’ll do it again and again without any complain) again until I reached the point where I said “this is it!”. I played around adding more rolled oats, decreasing the milk an adding different portion of fruits. This is what I came up to, and you can choose whichever you like. This recipe was for a thin consistency which I prefer, but if you like it thick, (or even cold) here’s what you need to do:

Thick Consistency – 1/3 cup of oats & 1/4 of Large Banana. The consistency will be thicker but it will still be drinkable, just like any thick smoothie. 

Thin consistency– this is the recipe in this post, 1/4 cup rolled oats and 1/4 of Large Banana

Can I add ice?

Since this is a breakfast smoothie, I used fresh not frozen fruit. However, when I had this during mid day or during really hot day, I used frozen Banana. Instead of adding ice cubes, use frozen fruit for a creamier smoothie, adding ice will make the smoothie runny.

Nutritious and delicious 

As simple (and beautifully) as this looks, I had to try this 2x to get the texture and taste that I was looking for, plus I wanted to make sure that it will still be delicious and nutritious (although it’s looks like there’s 1,000 calories here, but that is not really the case) and that I won’t be just drinking a sugar loaded drink in the morning. I am not a dietician so all that I am doing is just an estimate on what i think works for me, and I may not be for everybody and that’s fine.

Ingredients for Overnight Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

• Banana – For a nice smoothie mild flavor, it also makes the oatmeal smoothie slightly thicker and creamier.
• Milk – Any kind of milk will work, although full fat milk will make it creamier still go easy on the milk. I like to use skim milk or no sugar added almond milk or coconut milk. Whatever milk you use, use a good quality milk as that will be the main ingredient that will carry the taste of this oatmeal smoothie.
• Honey – You can use other sweetener like Maple syrup but it will slightly give a strong maple taste. You can also use plant based sweetener like stevia. Add the sweetener gradually as the measurement differs for any of this substitute sweetener
  
• Chia Seed – helps thicken the smoothie, plus so many benefits
• Rolled Oats – Good source of fiber, and its not an overnight oatmeal with the oats 🙂

How to make Overnight Banana Smoothie

Really simple. Ready? Simply put all the ingredients in a jar (except for the banana), I used a 500ml mason jar (wide mouth) then cover and shake, shake, shake. Microwave for 1 minute then cover and leave in the refrigerator overnight. Microwaving this is totally optional, If you do not have the problem that I have with overnight oatmeal being uncooked, you can skip the microwave part and put all the ingredients directly into the blender. Cover and leave the jar or blender cup in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, add the banana and blend until smooth and creamy. You can drink it as is maybe straight from the blender glass if you have the single serving ready to go blender cup or you can transfer it in a glass.

Do’s and Don’t of Making Breakfast Smoothie

Breakfast smoothie are great grab and go quick breakfast option, until you get the chance to sit down and eat proper breakfast. It can be as delicious and nutritious as any solid breakfast food, but it is also easy to sabotage it and turn it into a high calorie sugar loaded breakfast drink. To avoid getting to that route, here are some tips to get a delicious and nutritious breakfast smoothie. After all, what is the point of having a breakfast smoothie when what you are getting is a high sugar loaded breakfast drink?

Measure it out

It is so easy to get carried away and just throw everything in the blender, right? I’m guilty of that too. But although that is probably the fastest and easiest way to make smoothie, that could also be dangerous as you might end up with a breakfast drink that has more calories and even less healthy than a normal solid breakfast. Measuring the ingredients also give you a consistent and delicious and most of all nutritious smoothie.

DON’T: Throw everything into the blender.

DO: Measure your ingredients. Best way and efficient way to do this to have them in packs and keep it in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to use. This way, you only must measure the liquid and sweetener when you out it in the blender.

Think about liquid

There are variety of choices when it comes to the kind of liquid that you can use for smoothie. The addition of liquid is very important in making smoothie as it helps blend the ingredients easily. If you care about drinking a healthier smoothie that is not loaded with sugar, then use low calorie, reduced sugar or sugar free liquid. Fruit juices are usually high in sugar, unless you can find sugar free one.

DON’T: Add fruit juice.

DO: Use Greek yogurt or coconut milk or almond milk or even coconut water

Play with protein

Looking for ways to get more protein in your smoothie? Although there are tons of protein powder available for smoothie, using an ingredient with natural protein is still the best way to go. I do not have anything against protein powder, but for me natural is always the best way if you can go that way. Aim for a protein intake in your breakfast smoothie of about 15 to 30 grams, depending on your size and activity level.

DON’T: Pour in protein powder.

DO: Try nut butters, flax seeds, or tofu.

Too much fruit

If you are drinking smoothie for a healthy option snack or meal, do not go overboard with using too much fruit. Use a balance choice of fruits, about 1.5 cups of fruit per smoothie. And go for options that are high in fiber and antioxidants, such as berries rather than fruits that are high in sugar.

DON’T: Use less high sugar fruits

DO: Use high fiber and antioxidants fruits

Go green

Feeling like going green? If you are one of those people who like green smoothie, then go for it. But since green leafy vegetables tend to be bitter, try to use a milder green leafy vegetable and a mix of different others. Kale is not the only one that you can use, using a stronger green vegetable will most likely drive you to add more sweetener to remove the bitter taste. mix and match, and do not be restricted to one type of vegetable.

DON’T: Reach straight for kale.

DO: Start with spinach.

Source: www.cookinglight.com

This post is NOT to encourage anyone to make smoothie as meal replacement. Make and drink your smoothie according to your preference and health condition.

How does it taste?

It was nice twist to a regular glass of milk, that for sure. It has a nice creamy banana taste and subtle vanilla flavor. You can still feel the presence of the oats but in a nice way. This is a great way to enjoy milk in the morning, you can even use this and add cereals for a more filling and quick breakfast option. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Milk (Any milk will work)
• 1 tbsp Honey (or Maple, or any sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tsp Chia Seed
• 1/4 cup Rolled Oats
• 1/4 medium Banana (about 50g)

Instructions:

Pour milk in a jar with lid. Add honey, oats and chia seed. Microwave for 1 minute. Cover and leave the jar in the refrigerator overnight. The following day, add the Banana and blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer in a glass and ENJOY!

Note: You can add more banana if desired, but the more banana you add the thicker the consistency. This is more of a drinkable consistency which is light and runny.

Serves 1

Nutritional Information

Nutritional Information was calculated using Veryfitwell Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator. For details about Nutritional Information in this website, please read the Disclaimer page.

Note: Nutrition calculation will change depending on types of milk used to make this recipe. The calculation uses skim milk.

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What’s New

This time around I am sharing with you the recent recipe that I updated, Strawberry Shortbread Cheese Tart. This is one of the first few recipes that I posted when I was just starting on my blog. Of course that time, I thought the photos were amazing, but as I look back at it now, I have to say not really. I photo certainly do not gives justice to this recipe. So I thought a make over was needed, and what better timing than during the Summer season when fresh Strawberry are its best. This base of this tart used my Shortbread tart dough and the filling uses my homemade Strawberry Jam. It is super delicious, the sweet and tangy taste of cream cheese, plus the butter crust and homemade Strawberry jam is such a wonderful combination. Check it out. GET THE FULL RECIPE.

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